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Arena Divide
Chapter One My eyes flicker open. The floor beneath my feet rumbles slightly, as if I am in a moving vehicle. There's a pan of glass behind my head, but it is tinted so much that you can't see anything through it. What is going on here? My head is fuzzy, like when you wake up from a particularly deep sleep. My thoughts are mumbled together like a jigsaw puzzle. Did I hit my head or something? And where am I...? This looks vaguely familiar... My thought trails off when I look forward for the first time. Rows of seats sit before me, each occupied with two different people. My mouth falls open as I gaze around at the seats to my right, all of them similarly occupied. I'm on a bus. I realize that quite quickly. I am in a bus. A bus full of sleeping kids. Kids of varying ages, all in their teens. And all of them are fast asleep, not moving a muscle. What...is...going on? "About time you woke up!" I nearly leap out of my seat at the sound of a voice. Spinning faster than I thought possible, I see a dark-skinned boy sitting right beside me. "I thought I was the only guy here who'd ever do that!" The boy flashes me a grin, showing his rather yellow teeth. I don't say anything, too stunned by his appearance. How did I miss him? He's sitting right next to me! The boy chuckles, rubbing a hand through his short buzzed, black hair. "I was hoping you'd tell me!" There's one horrifying moment when I just feel a terrible fear. Fear about what was happening and why I was here. But the fear passes, and is soon replaced by a burning curiosity. "How do you not know where we are?" I ask, dumbfounded. The other kids that surround us still seem to be asleep, some snore and a few others murmur. The boy grins. "Hey! It's not like you know where we are either!" "Good point." I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to figure this mystery out. We're on a bus...but there's no driver. The area in the front of the bus is blocked off with a black tapestry, and there are no seats behind me. Just a caged door, through which I can see some disorganized boxes. This doesn't make sense. None of this makes sense. "What's your name?" The boy next to me seems eager to have a conversation, though I am more concerned with trying to figure out just what is happening to me. "I'm Isaac Clawson, by the way." He pauses, as if waiting for me to speak. I don't. I'm too interested in staring at the door on the top right hand side. Could I force it open? The bus seems to be moving, but if I got it open maybe it would be forced to stop... "Might as well expel that idea," Isaac seems to know what I'm thinking. "We're kinda tied down here." He lifts his hands and I notice the manacles wrapped around them for the first time. Fearfully, I look down and see that I have a matching pair around both my wrists and ankles. "Yeah, no idea why we have those," Isaac shrugs as I begin to pull at the steel chains. Real, substantial fear has gripped my heart now. Are we prisoners? Have we been kidnapped? I shut my eyes tight, trying to prevent the panic attack I feel coming on. What was the last thing I remember before arriving here? I..think it was a conversation I had with my sister, Melissa. "But, ya know, it's not all bad!" Isaac is still talking, unaware that I haven't been paying the slightest bit of attention to him. "I mean, maybe we are all deranged sociopaths bent on mass murder! Then it would be a good thing we're all trapped here!" "What the hell is wrong with you?" I turn to scowl at the boy and he grins, humor twinkling in his dark brown eyes. "How can you be so jovial about this?" He shrugs. "I dunno. Probably because I spent a good thirty minutes struggling around like you did before coming to the realization that there's nothing I can do until this damn bus comes to a halt." I blink. For the first time ever, I hear desperation in the boys voice. He's just as scared and confused as I am, only he's had longer to think it over. "I...don't remember how I got here..." I admit in a small voice. "Admission is the first step!" Isaac nods happily, though his eyes show none of the humour. Knowing that he's just as confused as I am gives some slight comfort. It's not much, but I'd take any sort of comfort right now. "What can you remember?" Isaac glances sideways at me. "I tried to to remember everything I could. It's not much, but every little bit could help." I shut my eyes, thinking back to everything and anything that I could possibly think of. Memories of myself aMy eyes flicker open. The floor beneath my feet rumbles slightly, as if I am in a moving vehicle. There's a pan of glass behind my head, but it is tinted so much that you can't see anything through it. What is going on here? My head is fuzzy, like when you wake up from a particularly deep sleep. My thoughts are mumbled together like a jigsaw puzzle. Did I hit my head or something? And where am I...? This looks vaguely familiar... My thought trails off when I look forward for the first time. Rows of seats sit before me, each occupied with two different people. My mouth falls open as I gaze around at the seats to my right, all of them similarly occupied. I'm on a bus. I realize that quite quickly. I am in a bus. A bus full of sleeping kids. Kids of varying ages, all in their teens. And all of them are fast asleep, not moving a muscle. What...is...going on? "About time you woke up!" I nearly leap out of my seat at the sound of a voice. Spinning faster than I thought possible, I see a dark-skinned boy sitting right beside me. "I thought I was the only guy here who'd ever do that!" The boy flashes me a grin, showing his rather yellow teeth. I don't say anything, too stunned by his appearance. How did I miss him? He's sitting right next to me! The boy chuckles, rubbing a hand through his short buzzed, black hair. "I was hoping you'd tell me!" There's one horrifying moment when I just feel a terrible fear. Fear about what was happening and why I was here. But the fear passes, and is soon replaced by a burning curiosity. "How do you not know where we are?" I ask, dumbfounded. The other kids that surround us still seem to be asleep, some snore and a few others murmur. The boy grins. "Hey! It's not like you know where we are either!" "Good point." I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to figure this mystery out. We're on a bus...but there's no driver. The area in the front of the bus is blocked off with a black tapestry, and there are no seats behind me. Just a caged door, through which I can see some disorganized boxes. This doesn't make sense. None of this makes sense. "What's your name?" The boy next to me seems eager to have a conversation, though I am more concerned with trying to figure out just what is happening to me. "I'm Isaac Clawson, by the way." He pauses, as if waiting for me to speak. I don't. I'm too interested in staring at the door on the top right hand side. Could I force it open? The bus seems to be moving, but if I got it open maybe it would be forced to stop... "Might as well expel that idea," Isaac seems to know what I'm thinking. "We're kinda tied down here." He lifts his hands and I notice the manacles wrapped around them for the first time. Fearfully, I look down and see that I have a matching pair around both my wrists and ankles. "Yeah, no idea why we have those," Isaac shrugs as I begin to pull at the steel chains. Real, substantial fear has gripped my heart now. Are we prisoners? Have we been kidnapped? I shut my eyes tight, trying to prevent the panic attack I feel coming on. What was the last thing I remember before arriving here? I..think it was a conversation I had with my sister, Melissa. "But, ya know, it's not all bad!" Isaac is still talking, unaware that I haven't been paying the slightest bit of attention to him. "I mean, maybe we are all deranged sociopaths bent on mass murder! Then it would be a good thing we're all trapped here!" "What the hell is wrong with you?" I turn to scowl at the boy and he grins, humor twinkling in his dark brown eyes. "How can you be so jovial about this?" He shrugs. "I dunno. Probably because I spent a good thirty minutes struggling around like you did before coming to the realization that there's nothing I can do until this damn bus comes to a halt." I blink. For the first time ever, I hear desperation in the boys voice. He's just as scared and confused as I am, only he's had longer to think it over. "I...don't remember how I got here..." I admit in a small voice. "Admission is the first step!" Isaac nods happily, though his eyes show none of the humour. Knowing that he's just as confused as I am gives some slight comfort. It's not much, but I'd take any sort of comfort right now. "What can you remember?" Isaac glances sideways at me. "I tried to to remember everything I could. It's not much, but every little bit could help." I shut my eyes, trying to think of anything and everything that I can. Memories of myself are the first to come. My name is Hunter Haven. Son of Michael and Lydia Haven. I have a sister named Melissa Haven. Often called Lissa. We lived in a simple two story house in... I can't remember. Once again I'm frightened as I realize that I can't remember where our house was. Or what country it was even in. I can recall other things, facts and details of the world and how it operates. But nothing specific. I have no memory of where all of our life was spent, or what was happening. "I don't remember much," I tell Isaac softly. "I remember my family, but not where we lived or how we lived. None of that seems to even exist inside of my mind." "Same with me," Isaac grunts irritability. He has gone back to clinking his shackles together. Either he's trying to wake everyone else up or he somehow believes it would break the chains. "Don't remember a lick about anything important. Odd, huh?" It's more than just odd. It's dowright unnatural. But oddly enough, I'm not very frightened anymore. There's now more of a burning curiosity inside of me. I want to know where I am and why I'm trapped inside of a bus with dozens of kids. A low gasp escapes from a kid sitting further ahead of us on the bus. Immediately, Isaac leans forward, sticking his head over the seat. "Hey! Are you awake?" A girl screams loudly and I grip Isaac around the shoulders, heaving him backwards into his seat. "What the hell are you doing?!" I hiss at him. "What?" Isaac seems taken back by how angry I am. "Did you not realize how confused they must be?" I'm astounded by his ignorance. Didn't he remember how the two of us first where? "Especially when a strange kid sticks his face into their face?" Isaac shrugs. "I wanted to know if they knew something we didn't." Well, he's going to have a wide pool of people to ask. Looking around, the kids who were fast asleep have begun to wake. "I think," I begin to say as the kids murmur and shout amongst themselves. "That we're about to learn just what is going on." Chapter Two Isaac and I watch the other kids go through the exact same experience the two of us did. They panic, shaking their arms and legs as they furiously attempt to pull their shackled hands and legs free. When they eventually see that they cannot escape, they begin to try and think of how they got here. I doubt any of them know. "Where is this place?" The girl sitting in front of us, the one Isaac scared, asks as she tries to twist her head around to face us. "We don't know," I say before Isaac can say something that will alarm her again. "But we don't need to panic, we could--" "We have no idea and Hunter is just trying not to alarm you," Isaac interrupts me anyways. "Personally, I think we're in some kind of prison transfer. I mean, I don't remember being a delinquent but I could be one anyways." It sounds ridiculous, but could it be true? I don't remember anything prior to waking up in this bus. "That's a bit far-fetched," The girl says flatly. She's rather pretty, with shimmering blonde hair and deep sapphire eyes. Isaac just shrugs. "Why else would we be locked up together in a bus?" "We're not wearing prison garb," The girl points out and I take note of my own attire for the first time. A gray T-shirt, cargo pants, sneakers, and even a digital watch that reads 11:45. It seems so out of place that I wonder how I didn't notice it before. I was too preoccupied with my current situation, I guess. "Well, what do you think the reason is then?" Isaac challenges. I don't hear the girl's response, as I allow my gaze to turn the rest of the bus' occupants. Most of them are engrossed in conversation similar to the one Isaac is having. A few are mumbling into their hands, like they can't believe this is happening. One girl is even sobbing. Across from me, the guy with the cowboy hat that I noticed earlier is glaring daggers. That's strange. What did I do to earn such a reaction? "Hey, what's your idea, Hunter?" Isaac's words drag my attention away from the mysterious guy and back to my own seat, where the blonde girl and her partner are looking over the tops of their seat. "Hunter?" The newcomer asks. "Is that your name?" "Umm, yeah. I'm Hunter Haven." It feels weird to be introducing myself to strangers on a bus with blacked out windows, but there's not much else to do. "And this is Isaac." I gesture to the boy sitting beside me and he flashes what I'm sure he thinks is a charming grin. "I'm Paige," The blonde girl gives a pretty smile. "And this is Vanessa." She points to the chocolate eyed girl beside her. "Where are we?" Vanessa frowns as she looks around the crowded bus. A pair of large boys have begun banging on the windows, drawing the attention of majority of the others. "Dunno." Saying that I was confused would be the understatement of the century. Thinking of...What century is it? "Well, I think--" Isaac never gets to say what he thinks, for at that moment, the kids at the front of the bus begin to yell. "What's happening?" Paige asks, her face whitening. I don't answer, trying to lean into the aisle to get a better look. Then I see it. The black tarp that had blocked off the front of the bus for as long as I've been awake has begun to part. Kids shout with a mix of joy and fear as the tarp slowly inches towards the edges. Isaac leans forward with a knowing look. "Guess we're about to find out." 'Chapter One' The stars lazily and gently pulsed their light. Light that had travelled thousands of years. Absorbed on the surface of a planet and turned into heat energy, or pulled in by the energy of a black hole, never to escape again. "Hunter! Hunter, come in!" A voice buzzes through the intercom built into my suit. I grapple between rock chunks, crossing the cold and empty gaps of space. I land gently on the rock, hearing the noise vibrate through my suit. "You're getting too close to the cluster, Hunter!" Rourke yells at me through the comms. "Relax, Rourke. I know what I'm doing!" He's always telling me what to do. I'm the Collector here, I'm the one who actually brings these asteroids in. I'm the one who braves the depths of space to do so. Rourke has no idea what it's like. He's just the Crew Boss, head of us at Ceres Mining Station Two-Five. Our station is in charge of bringing in asteroids and the valuable ores they carry, but it's only the Collectors who actually brave deep space, moving between rocks with our Grapnels and tethers, bringing asteroids to the station for processing. I aim my Grapnel gun at another passing chunk. Nearby two of my fellow Collectors, Joc and Naghi, attempt to wrangle a particularly fast asteroid towards the station. Sweat builds beneath my ExoSuit and I mutter a low curse. I hate it when I sweat. The stupid suit prevents you from wiping it away, forcing you to feel every agonizing drop as it seeps from your forehead to your toes. Still, I don't hate the suit. It keeps me alive, after all. I land atop a spinning chunk, digging my NanoClaw into it's side prevent myself from being flung off as it flips upside down. Rourke is still shouting at me through the Comms, but I've learned how to tune him out. Listen to the vibrations in my suit, the rasp of my breath, feel the trickle of sweat as it slides down the base of my neck. My quarry is just ahead. Naghi tagged it just last week as it entered the asteroid field. Scans show that it has over three weeks worth of precious materials. Zinc, copper, iron, bronze, even titanium and platinum. Collecting it will be the haul of a century. "You're going to get yourself killed," Rourke growls as the chunk I cling to takes me ever closer to the asteroid. Stars pulse rhythmically as I spin upside down. Those of lesser mind would get sick with worry doing what I am doing; clinging to a spinning chunk of rock less than a meter wide as it hurtles towards a speeding asteroid hundreds of kilometres away from the nearest station. Luckily, I don't have a lesser mind. "Anything in particular you want me to put on your gravestone?" Rourke asks sardonically. "Yeah, actually. Put: He died in an awesome explosion whilst trying to wrangle the biggest asteroid ever!" Rourke begins to complain as I pull myself into a standing position upon the chunk, my NanoClaw deep into the rock to prevent falling off into empty space. It's happened before, and it's not as deadly as you'd think; the Grapnel gun allows me to grapple onto any passing chunks and the ICARUS Propulsion system built into my ExoSuit's boots gives me the ability to boost for a short distance. In this case, however, I can not allow myself to fall. This chunk is the only thing fast enough to catch up to that asteroid. I stand straight atop the spinning rock, blazing right for the asteroid as it nears the Asteroid Ring. There is no up or down in space, yet my mind still attempts to orient myself as I take the right arm of my ExoSuit and aim it for the precious asteroid. I'll have one shot at this. If I miss, everything I just did was pointless. I breath steadily, taking careful aim. I'm the best shot with the Grapnel of everyone on the station. Possibly the best ever. But even that may not be enough. The asteroid is moving fast, probably two G's at least. I close my eyes, doing the math. Two G's. Fifteen kilometres off, the ring fast approaching. My eyes shoot open with a smile. I have it. Rourke shouts one last time as I glance up to check that the asteroid is on trajectory. I fire. The Grapnel launches. There is no sound in space, so everything is eerily quiet as the cable extends through the inky blackness, the reaching claw heading towards its target. Not the asteroid, but the empty space two kilometres ahead of it. The Grapnel sinks into the rocky base of the asteroid, drilling several meters inside. With the flick of a button I activate the Spikes, digits of the Grapnel that hold the cable onto its target. The cable goes rigid as I lock on. A grin crosses my face. "See?" I ask Rourke through the Comms. "I got it!" No sooner have I spoken does my cable begin to stretch. The asteroid isn't slowing. I don't understand. The Spikes have been activated, my NanoClaw is drilled into the chunk that's traveling hundreds of kilometres in the opposite direction. Physics dictate that the asteroid should at least have slowed, if not outright stopped. Unless...Unless the asteroid is much faster than the scans indicated. "Hunter, get out of there!" Rourke screams over my Comms too late. The asteroid speeds on towards the Ring. My Grapnel is still lodged in its side, and it's exceeded the maximum length. The cable shakes and stretches, thinning as the asteroid continues to pull. I fear it will snap. I reach for the Photon blade in my belt, designed to cut through cables in situations like these. Too late do I realize I was worried about the wrong thing. My NanoClaw groans, sending vibrations through my suit as the intense pull of the asteroid tugs against it. It's the only thing keeping me attached to the chunk. The only thing preventing ne from being dragged after that asteroid. It rips free from the chunk. I scream as the NanoClaw comes loose. The cable suddenly jerks me off the chunk and I'm being dragged off into space, hurtling towards the Ring and a quick death. Chapter Two The Comms are nothing but static. I'm moving too fast and am too far away for Rourke to hear me. I barely have time to think. The cable drags me through space, past the twinkling stars that seem so mocking now. The blade in my pocket, the Photon Blade, could be used to cut the cable, but what would that do? The asteroid has dragged me far too close to the Ring, and now I can clearly see that it's on a collision course with it. Even if I detatch myself I'll be killed by debris from the crash. I glance up at the Ring now. The large, gray expanse rocks that can hardly be completely seen with the naked eye. I've always found it so beautiful, but right now I think it's nothing but deadly. "Hun---Can you---me?" My Comms spring to life, but it's not Rourke speaking. It's Naghi, one of my fellow Collectors. "Barely!" I shout back, eyes rapidly spinning. If he can make it through the static, he must be near. There! I spot him and Joc not more than a dozen kilometres off, floating around a broken chunk. With dread, I realize that the debris will hit them too. "You need to get away! The asteroid is going to hit the ring!" It's still aways off, but the distance is closing fast. "Slag that!" Joc growls. "We'll help you!" "Don't see how you can." I'm trying not to get emotional here. Thoughts of Grandpa and Lissa flash through my head. "The asteroids moving too fast." Better they don't get themselves killed over my stupid mistake. Naghi and Joc begin to argue between themselves. Gears are churning in my head. Despite what I told them, I am not going to give up just yet. But I can't do anything while I'm being dragged by the asteroid. I flick a button inside of my ExoSuit, activating the Grapnel's system. In a flash the cable pulls me forward, slicing through space like a missile. I land neatly upon the asteroid, my suit vibrating violently from the sheer speed of it. I can see the Ring even clearer from here. In less than ten minutes the asteroid will collide with it. Dizzy and frightened, I spot the second asteroid. It comes from around the Ring, behind Joc and Naghi. It's heading in the opposite direction of the one I am on. A plan forms in my head. It's stupid and crazy, but it just may work. "Guys!" I call to the other Collectors as I drill my NanoClaw into the side of the asteroid. Strangely enough, it's rather hollow. "Grapnel over here!" "Are you slagging crazy?" Joc calls back. "Do you want to live or not?" Something in my tone must have convinced them. Because after a shared glance, they fire their Grapnels. Within seconds they're landing beside me on the asteroid. "You better have a good plan," Naghi says nervously as he spots the Ring. The big gray rocks are looming closer and closer. I try to ignore the my rising dread. If this doesn't work... "Drill into the asteroid with your NanoClaws," I tell them, keeping an eye on the second asteroid as it rounds the Ring. Is it fast enough? "And then ready your Grapnels." They must be dying with questions, but to their credit they just follow orders. I breath shakily, watching the second asteroid. I'm going to have to time this perfectly. I've done it once today. But this time I need to account for three Grapnels. "On the count of three," I tell them with a steady voice. "You need to fire your Grapnels two kilometres ahead of that asteroid." "Ahead of it?" Joc asks, puzzled. Naghi just nods, as if he understands what I'm saying. "It's moving too fast for us to target it directly," I explain hastily. The Ring is rapidly approaching. A few more minutes and we'll all be dead. I don't even know if w have enough time for this to work. Once again I think of my family. What will they do if I die here? "One!" The large gray, rock is almost at the mark. "Two!" The Ring is there. We will crash. "Three!" Joc and Naghi fire. Their Grapnels slice through the open space, colliding with the second asteroid just at its tip. My calculations were spot on. "Activate the Spikes!" I scream and they do. The asteroid beneath our feet shudders and lurches. We all stumble on our feet, only remaining standing because of our NanoClaws. The asteroid begins to slow. Tethered to the second via our Grapnels, we've robbed it of momentum as the two space rocks travel in opposite directions. But it's still not enough. The asteroid has slowed, but it's still on a collision course with the Ring. My own Grapnel needs to be fired. I don't know about its performance. It was damaged during my ascent to this asteroid. I could order Joc and Naghi to activate their Grapnels and leave, but then we'd lose the asteroid and all its precious metals.